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HR 1405 - Veterans Visa and Protection Act of 2017

To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish a Veterans visa program to permit veterans who have been removed from the United States to return as immigrants and for other purposes.

  • Crime of violence is defined as an offence for which a noncitizen has served a term of at least five years in prison.
  • A program should be established by the Secretary of Homeland Security, no later than the first 180 days after this Act is enacted, that allows
    • deported vets who meet the requirements to enter the U.S. as lawfully admitted permanent residents
    • non-citizen veterans to adjust status to that of a legal permanent resident
    • stop the removal of non-citizen veterans
  • There will be no limitation on the number of veterans who can receive benefits
  • A veteran will remain eligible for such program if they were not deported for committing a crime of violence or one that does not endanger U.S. national security
  • A veteran will be protected from deportation unless they have a criminal conviction for a crime of violence
  • A non-citizen with status of a lawfully admitted permanent resident is eligible for naturalization
    • Any grounds for previous orders for deportation will be disregarded in determining if the noncitizen is a person of good moral character
    • Previous absence from the US due to deportation will be disregarded when determining if a non-citizen meets requirements relating to continuous residence or physical presence.
  • A non-citizen who has changed status to that of a lawfully admitted permanent resident will be eligible for military and veterans’ benefits.
  • The Secretary of Homeland Security will identify cases involving veterans at risk of deportation by
    • asking every non-citizen who has been processed whether they are serving or have served
    • seeking approval from a supervisor before beginning deportation proceedings against a service member or veteran
    • keeping a record of veterans and service members who had deportation proceedings initiated against them
  • When the Secretary identifies a case, they will annotate all immigration and naturalization records of the Department of Homeland Security relating to the non-citizen. This information will include
    • the branch of military service the individual served in
    • whether they served during a period of military hostilities
    • the immigration status at time of enlistment
    • whether the individual served honorably or was honorably discharged
    • the grounds for deportation and whether they were criminal
  • The Secretary of Homeland Security has 90 days after the enactment of the Act to broadcast the rules to implement the Act